Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan delayed withdrawing his 'disgusting' remark after advice from Department of Justice officials, reports have claimed - but the Department of Justice has denied this.

Sources close to the former police chief has said he was considering withdrawing the controversial remark he used to describe the actions of the penalty points whistleblowers.

However, RTE News reports that he delayed it after consulting with justice officials and then passed up a chance to clarify his comments last Friday after the Data Protection Commissioner report on the issue was published.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice has this evening denied that it blocked Commissioner Callinan from withdrawing the 'disgusting' comments.

The Department said it was up to Mr Callinan himself to make a statement on the matter.

They said: "There were ongoing discussions between officials and the former Garda Commissioner about issues relating to the penalty points controversy.

"At all times it was recognised that the question of the Commissioner making any further statement in relation to comments he had made at the Public Accounts Committee and the content of any such statement was a matter for decision by the former Commissioner himself.

"Towards the end of last week there were discussions about the possibility of his making a further statement in relation to those comments and the form any such statement might take.

"There was no question of the Department suggesting that this possibility be ruled out.

Mr Callinan resigned after the Department of Justice Secretary General, Brian Purcell, visited him at his home on Monday night and informed him there was unease at Cabinet concerning the revelations on phone tapping in garda stations.

Earlier Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that the Garda phone bugging controversy could have implications for tribunals.

Mr Kenny said that the concerns may not be limited to just civil and criminal cases.

He said the secret recording of phone calls to and from Garda stations was a serious issue and that the Government was very concerned about it.

He said: "Where in some cases court cases have been dealt with, others in far as tribunals may have implications for some of the findings here."

On Wednesday, it emerged thousands of civil and criminal cases could be “tainted” after shock revelations Garda telephone calls were taped for more than 30 years.

Phone calls to and from Garda stations were bugged across the country – from the 1980s until last November.

It’s understood there are more than 2,400 tapes of conversations that were secretly recorded by some officers.

The damning revelations have forced the Government to set up a Commission of Investigation and order officers to hand over all information on the issue.

Enda Kenny said the new information could impact on “cases being heard, cases going through the courts, cases to be followed or maybe cases that were already dealt with”.